Sasini PLC, a publicly listed agricultural company, has issued a profit warning for the full year ending 30th September 2024, citing higher production costs, depressed commodity prices and supply chain disruptions.
- The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firm says it anticipates a 25 percent decline in net profits for the year to 30th September 2024 compared to the same period a year prior.
- The company further attributes the anticipated decline to challenges with the perishable nature of the fruit business stemming from disrupted logistics into European Markets after closure of the Suez Canal.
- The perceived severe recession in major economies, especially in the United States which is a key nut market for Sasini, has lowered demand for the nuts business.
“Based on our forecast of the financial results and taking into consideration the information currently at the Board’s disposal, we anticipate that our projected net earnings for the year to 30th September 2024 will be 25% lower than the reported earnings for the year ended 30th September 2023,” Board Chairman, James Boyd McFie said in the public notice.
In the half year 2024 results, Sasini registered a loss after tax of KSh 37.7 million on account of a 54 percent surge in the cost of sales. The company has significantly reduced its workforce since 2020, citing increased mechanization and a high payroll.
“The business performance for the period has been adversely affected by several extenuating circumstances in the global macro environment; the global economic situation and continuing geo political disruptions in our business value chain being the key factors,” McFie added.
Legislative changes in the coffee sector, the agricultural firm says, has resulted in adverse supply chain disruptions, summing up the anticipated decline.
Sasini, which trades under the ticker symbol SASN at the NSE, closed the previous trading session at KSh 17.85, a year-to-date loss of 10.8 percent.
